The entrepreneurial process involves all the functions, activities, and actions associated with perceiving opportunities and

creating organizations to pursue them. Where do would-be entrepreneurs get their ideas? More often than not it is through their present line of employment or experience. A 2002 study of the Inc. 500²comprising America¶s [500] fastest growing companies²found that 57% of the founders got the idea for their new venture in the industry they worked in and a further 23% in an industry related to the one in which they were employed. Hence, 80% of all new high-potential businesses are founded in industries that are the same as, or closely related to, the one in which the entrepreneur has previous experience.

What are the factors that influence someone to embark on an entrepreneurial career? As with most human behavior, entrepreneurial traits are shaped by personal attributes and environment. Personal Attributes: ´Do you have the right stuff to be an entrepreneur?µ a higher need for achievement a higher locus of control

Environmental Factors Perhaps as important as personal attributes are the external influences on a would-be entrepreneur. The most famous region of high-tech entrepreneurship is Silicon Valley. Because everyone in Silicon Valley knows someone who has made it big as an entrepreneur, role models abound. Role models are very important because knowing successful entrepreneurs makes the act of becoming one yourself seem much more credible.
African Americans make up 12% of the U.S. population, but owned only 4% of the nation·s businesses in 1997. One of the major reasons for a relative lack of entrepreneurship among African Americans is the scarcity of African- American entrepreneurs, especially store owners, to provide role models.

Other Sociological Factors Family responsibilities play an important role in the decision whether to start a company. It is, relatively speaking, an easy career decision to start a business when a person is 25 years old, single, and without many personal assets and dependents. It is a much harder decision when a person is 45 and married, has teenage children preparing to go to college, a hefty mortgage, car payments, and a secure, well-paying job. Another factor that determines the age at which entrepreneurs start businesses is the tradeoff between the experience that comes with age and the optimism and energy of youth.

Robert Swanson was 27 years old when he hit upon the idea that a company could be formed to capitalize on biotechnology. At that time, he knew almost nothing about the field. By reading the scientific literature, Swanson identified the leading biotechnology scientists and contacted them. ´Everybody said I was too early³it would take 10 years to turn out the first microorganism from a human hormone or maybe 20 years to have a commercial product³ everybody except Herb Boyer.µ Swanson was referring to Professor Herbert Boyer at the University of California at San Francisco, co inventor of the patents that, according to some observers, form the basis of the biotechnology industry. When Swanson and Boyer met in early 1976, they almost immediately agreed to become partners in an endeavor to explore the commercial possibilities of recombinant DNA. Boyer named their venture Genentech, an acronym for genetic engineering technology. Just seven months later, Genentech announced its first success, a genetically engineered human brain hormone, somatosin. According to Swanson, they accomplished 10 years of development in seven months.

Regulatory barriers Creating a business environment conducive to entrepreneurship and enterprise creation requires a broad range of reinforcing and supportive policies. These include fiscal and monetary policies, which are essential to provide a basis for a stable macroeconomic environment. They also include structural policies that determine the overall economic framework in which the business sector operates, such as those affecting labour markets, tax design, competition, financial markets and bankruptcy laws. Legal entry barriers should be avoided unless their benefits are very clear. Regarding the barriers to entry, we can indicate some that are common in many countries: several legal forms of enterprise, with different procedures, requirements and registration; the complexity of creating a company: Employment regulation limits management flexibility and leads to smaller firm size and less research and development as well as less investment in technology. Barriers to exit may also discourage entry, since exit and entry rates tend to be closely related. Since firm entry involves considerable risk, with survival chances that are difficult to assess, institutions that make exit very costly discourage entry.

Cultural and social barriers Creating an enterprise is a very difficult task because it demands knowledge of the legislation, environment, market, institutions, etc. To install an enterprise in a country, the entrepreneurs need to know well the language to have a better implementation and adaptation in the place. The difficulties of language don·t help the complete integration of the entrepreneurs and enterprises, specially the micro and small enterprises. The limited access to social and business networks and institutions can also be considerate as a barrier to enterprise creation. The promotion of entrepreneurial culture must be fostered in order to improve the motivation of persons, the acceptance towards risk, the appropriate skills and knowledge, factors that inhibit the creation of enterprises. Role models must be also presented in order to give entrepreneurs an idea of the rewards and benefits of enterprise creation and reduce the stigma of failure. The real cost of enterprise creation is still a barrier for star-up an enterprises, both personal and financial costs. The fear of failure is a barrier that still remains implanted in Europe because the legal and social consequences of failure are severe. Information, communication and resources are very important tools that can be provided by networks. The lack of access to the networks can be a significant entry barrier.

Economic and financial barriers Access to finance is important for all firms in achieving their business objectives; particularly for star-ups and business that seek to invest and grow. The capital markets tend to be efficient to larger firms but newer and smaller growth forms often depend upon external sources of finance and can face barriers in the market that prevent them from raising even relatively modest sums of risk capital, specially for innovative high-technology small firms and for businesses operating in disadvantage areas. The risk capital societies usually support societies and are not used to support small enterprises. The management of micro loans is very expensive and don·t interest banks; the transaction costs are high and the returns are low. The disfavored people don·t have bank credit and have several difficulties in getting loans because the risk for the banks is higher.